Hi,

We did not do this but some of the others in our group went on to Sharm-el-Sheikh to dive and relax. Hurghada is also another recommended to me previously. You may want to check earlier posts as I have seen both come up before.

What most people do after having toured in Egypt is a relaxing holiday at the Red Sea Riviera (Egypt). We have been to El Gouna, a seaside village in the middle of the desert. The hotels are all at least 4*. The village is brandnew, clean and well kept. Hurghada is 30 km further south and old and dirty. Sharm-el-Sheikh is also at the sea, bur more north, in the direction of the Sinai.

I like Sharm - but I am a diver. There is nothing else to do but dive, or lay in the sun, on the sinai. IT is cleaner, safer and better food than the main land of egypt.
I would not spend much time in cairo if you don't like roughing it- and you may want to take one of the boats down the nile, just because the food is better and it is easier. Egypt is pretty poor.
Luxor is incredible however - Karnak stays with you always.
I'd stop in Rome on the way back, just for the food, or the Turkish coast. Turkey has wonderful food, much in classical ruins and delightful people. It is a safe place to visit. THe aegean and med coast lines are magical. THe germans and brits have many very upscale resorts along the coast, like patara prince in Kalkan.
Better yet take a gulet cruise, and just veg out on a boat in incredible blue, clear, warm waters, going island to island, ruin to ruin along the coast. Their are many gulets to choose from - all the big tour companies offer them. Some of the boats are pretty chic.


Istanbul is a big city, so it may not be as relaxing as what you want, but can't beat hagia sophia and other mosques. The new 4 seasons hotel overlooks the sultan ahmet - hard to beat for romance, unless you're on the gulet. good luck.

dear lrene
good day from jordan
next destination for you is jordan after egypt ,we can get you the best rates &route.

regards
ali rawashdeh

I am making my third trip to Egypt this fall and spending a leisurely week after in Cyprus. It should be a real change of pace, but really there are any number of great options, Jordan, Syria, Turkey or even Oman and the U.A.E. It all depends on what you want most to do --antiquities, beaches, etc. Have a great time, you'll love the Middle East if you go with the right attitude.

Hello Irene, Are you SURE that you want to go somewhere and just RELAX after visiting Egypt? With so many wonderful, exciting places to visit. Petra, in Jordan, for example. You probably won't relax there, but what a great experience it is! Of course, Greece and Turkey are great places also.

Thanks for everyone's great responses. You've given me a lot to think about! I'm going to Ireland in a couple of weeks now, so will start working on this trip when I return.

Okay, back from Ireland and dreaming about Egypt. After reading everyone's responses, I'm leaning toward a couple of days on the Red Sea (Sharm-el-Sheikh or El Gouna?) and at least a day at Petra after finishing our Egypt tour. I would love some recommendations on hotels and transportation. Thanks!

Irene-

If you're thinking about a few days relaxing by the Red Sea, I'd strongly recommend El Gouna rather than Sharm el-Sheikh (unless you're both keen divers). Sharm's not that striking and is primarily a diving destination. El Gouna is an attractive holiday village with a number of hotels - see www.elgouna.com.

We stayed at the Movenpick El Gouna (under Swiss management). Though 5* the atmosphere was very casual and informal. We booked a standard room which was nice and large with terrace (ours was ground floor with covered terrace and open terrace). Beautiful grounds with flowers and plants, 2 swimming pools with free lounges and towels. Beach is not very attractive (no trees at all, just a strip of sand).
Various restaurants with good food. Main restaurant is buffet for all meals ; dinner buffet with another "theme" every night.
In low season (May - October) "eat around" system for dinner (= dinner can be taken at the other hotels of El Gouna).
Own diving centre "The dive tribe".

Hi Irene,

After visiting Egypt and Israel this fall we will spend 8 days in Jordan. We have 5 nights booked at the Movenpick Hotel (Swiss owned chain) at Petra. It was highly recommended by many people. One can reserve a room with a view of the hills of Petra it's so close to the entrance. It comes with all the comforts we like as well. Have a look at their website for photos and details. When you are so close it would be a shame to miss this World Heritage Site. We can hardly wait! Happy travels

Thanks for all the replies - I'm learning a lot! I've decided Petra is a must (the Movenpick sounds good Lee) and I also want to go to St. Catherines and climb Mt Sinai for sunrise. How strenuous a trip is that? (Not too worried, but we are Florida "flatlanders"!) It looks like Aqaba might be a place to spend a day snorkeling in between the two. Any tips on that? Thank you!

If you want to visit St. Catherine's Monastery and climb Mt. Sinai you'd better stay at Sharm-el-Sheikh. Aqaba is rather far away and in that region of the Red Sea I definitely would prefer to stay in Eilat (Israel) rather than Aqaba.

Hi Myriam, thanks for the reply. I was thinking we could stay in St. Catherine's for a couple nights, a couple of nights on the Red Sea, and then 2 or 3 nights at Petra. One of the tour packages had a stop at Aqaba so I thought I'd check that out as requiring less travel. Sounds like El Gouna might still be the best idea. I'm still unclear on how to travel from one point to the other - buses, cabs?

Irene,
I hope you realize that the trajects between the places you mention are rather long, so you will loose lots of time travelling. In Egypt it is not advisable to rent a car, so you will have to hire a cab or maybe you could fly.
Also note that El Gouna is great for relaxing and for scuba diving but don't expect to see any real Egyptian life overthere.

Hello. We did Greece and Egypt earlier this month and scheduled 3 days on the island of Santorini, Greece after Egypt and before heading home. It was ABSOLUTELY this BEST way to end our vacation. We stayed in Oia and people from all over the island would come to "our end" to watch the sunsets. It was great! We also spent 2 days in Sharm El Sheikh when we got to Egypt -- I would rate Santorini MUCH better than Sharm -- more to do. Sharm is built primarily on the sea -- not much else to the area but resorts and such.

In regard to St. Catherine's, we VERY much wanted to do this; however, it appears, from the tours offered by the Hyatt Regency in Sharm that tours go on Tuesday and Saturday. You have 2 times to choose -- one that leaves at 10:30 pm, in which case you make the 2 hour foot climb in the dark to watch the sunrise or 6/7 am, in which you climb in the heat of the day (not desirable!). The tour was only $50 or so and included breakfast or lunch, I believe.

From what our conceirge told us, the climb is VERY strenuous. Wear VERY light clothing, VERY good shoes and take PLENTY of water. Also, you only have a specified amount of time to reach the top -- if you don't make it, too bad -- you're on a schedule.

The monastery is only open in the morning and is not open, obviously, on Sundays. Why the tour was only on Tuesday and Saturday, I don't know.

Email if you want more info.

If you are planning to climb Mount Sinai before sunrise, make sure to have heavy clothes, a blnket or a warm sleeping bag as it is freezing on the summit. However, it gets warm amazingly quickly as soon as the sun is up.